Putin Critic's 'Angry Patriots Club' Rips Russia's 'Mediocre' War Tactics

Former Russian commander Igor Girkin's newly formed "Angry Patriots Club" released its manifesto on Monday, slamming the Russian government's "mediocre" military operation in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with strong confidence in the Kremlin's ability to swiftly overtake its eastern neighbor. But failures in Russian strategies, along with Western support for Ukraine, have hindered Putin's attempt at conquest.

Girkin, a self-described Russian nationalist military blogger who previously played a key role in Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, has been repeatedly critical of Putin's strategy in Ukraine and recently launched his own group, the Angry Patriots Club.

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the group is likely an attempt for Girkin and others to "advance the political goals of unnamed figures in Russian power structures" who want influence over Putin's decision-making.

On Monday, Girkin's club published a manifesto on its Telegram page attacking Kremlin leadership for taking a "mediocre" approach in Ukraine.

"The opportunity for a quick and bloodless victory over the Ukrainian state, which has become a weapon of NATO, was missed back in 2014 by the signing of the treacherous Minsk agreements," read the manifesto, which was translated to English. "The military operation launched in 2022 could have gone according to a completely different scenario, but a mediocre organization at the strategic, operational and tactical level led our country to a war of attrition."

"Defeat in the war will lead Russia to catastrophic consequences," the statement continues. "The United States and NATO countries do not hide their intentions to dismember the Russian Federation and bring the Russian people into submission to the new yoke, which this time came from the West."

The club also alleges that some unspecified individuals of power in Russia have "transferred their capital and their loyalty to the West" and are ready to "sabotage" the country's ambitions.

"We do not rule out that they are preparing a pro-Western coup, capitulation and, consequently, the dismemberment of Russia," the manifesto said. "We will counter this scenario with all available means. We are ready to cooperate with all the healthy forces of society, with all those who do not want Russia to lose."

Girkin recently predicted Ukraine's future offensive for Russian-occupied territory, saying during an interview originally broadcast on Russian state TV that it might help pull Putin and his supporters "out of a state of being on the planet of pink ponies." Kyiv has been expected to launch a counteroffensive for Russian-occupied territory in the coming months.

The Russian veteran also previously claimed that Russia could be setting up its soldiers to be considered criminals by calling the war a "special military operation," arguing that "from a legal standpoint, it is not known what the so-called Special Military Operation is."

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian defense ministry via email for comment.